Input indicator: local authorities working with troubled families

Summary

This indicator reports the percentage of local authorities who have begun to identify and work with troubled families in their area as part of DCLG's programme.

How the figure is calculated:

The figure is the number of all troubled families that have been identified by upper tier local authorities to date given as a percentage of all families that authorities pledged to turn around (as indicated in the published data - see link below).

Why is this indicator in the business plan?

The indicator is a measure of the progress being made by local authorities at this early stage of the Troubled Families Programme. Identifying the real names and addresses and all the various family members of families that are right for this programme is not always easy as we have targeted families for the first time whose range of problems will often cut across education, crime, worklessness and other issues. This involves lots of different local agencies sharing information and making an assessment about whether families they're individually working with are the right ones for this programme.

How often is it updated?

Data is updated quarterly.

Where does the data come from?

Self-declarations by local authorities, which are provided to the DCLG Troubled Families Team.

What does a change in this indicator show?

These figures show the extent of progress in local authorities working towards their commitments for the programme. They show that councils are on course to meet the Prime Minister's target. The number of families that the Prime Minister pledged to turn around have now been identified.

Time Lag

2 months

Next available update

To be confirmed.

Type of Data

Management Information

Robustness and data limitations

There are 117,910 families targeted under the government’s Troubled Families programme. For rounding purposes, however, the target is usually referred to as 120,000.